Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.
Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.

Tag Archive: Michael Wright

  1. EPIX® Renews Drama Series Domina for Season Two

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    Premium network EPIX® announced today that the historical drama Domina will return for an eight-episode second season. The series will be produced by Tiger Aspect, in association with EPIX Studios, following an agreement with leading global distributor Banijay Rights.

    The epic, sweeping drama series takes place during one of the most provocative periods in Roman history, following the extraordinary rise of Gaius, Emperor Augustus Caesar’s third wife, Livia Drusilla, played by Kasia Smutniak (Perfetti Sconosciuti, Loro, Devils).  Domina is scheduled to begin production this spring at the historic Cinecittà Studios in Rome and is scheduled to premiere on EPIX in 2023, with the second season also returning to Sky across Europe in 2023.

    Domina season two chronicles the struggle for control of the Roman Empire, and of Rome’s Imperial Family from a rare female perspective.  In its first season, Livia Drusilla, the golden girl of the prominent Claudii family returned to Rome after ten years in exile, determined to regain everything that was stolen from her.  Now, atop a fractious empire, and a dysfunctional dynasty, she must fight to preserve her marriage to Gaius and find a way to seat one of her sons on the throne as new and old rivals jockey for position in a world where it’s impossible to know who to trust.

    “The first season of Domina drove the largest total cross-platform audience average for any EPIX freshman series in 2021,” said EPIX President Michael Wright. “Audiences were drawn to the fresh vantage point of a period drama with a female-dominated perspective featuring a powerful performance by Kasia Smutniak who leads a strong ensemble cast. Season two promises viewers an even more compelling and exciting ride from Creator Simon Burke and Executive Producers Lucy Bedford, Muirinn Lane Kelly and Carmel Maloney.”

    Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-productions and Acquisitions, Banijay Rights, added, “Domina is an epic historical drama that portrays a different side of Ancient Rome – one that charts the rise of one of the most powerful women of the time. We’re delighted that Simon Burke’s powerful Roman family saga will return for a second season on EPIX with an ensemble cast and even more riveting plot line.”

    Lucy Bedford, Head of Drama, Tiger Aspect and Executive Producer said; “We’re thrilled to be partnering with EPIX to return the extraordinary DOMINA to our screens. Season two will plunge us back into the intrigue and corruption of ancient Rome, as the indomitable Livia Drusilla fights to maintain her position in a world in which the quest for power is pursued at any cost.  This time Livia’s hands will get very dirty, and the price will be higher than even she can imagine.”

    Smutniak leads an international ensemble cast featuring Matthew McNulty (Misfits) as Gaius, Emperor Augustus; Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) as Octavia, Gaius’ sister; Christine Bottomley (The End of the F***ing World) as Scribonia, Gaius’ second wife and Livia’s mortal enemy; Ben Batt (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Agrippa, Gaius’ childhood friend, then general and later consul.

    The series is created by Simon Burke (Fortitude, Strike Back), with Burke, Lucy Bedford, Muirinn Lane Kelly and Carmel Maloney as executive producers. EPIX has the U.S. rights, with the second season returning to Sky across Europe in 2023. Banijay Rights is the worldwide distributor.

  2. EPIX, Banijay Rights Take SAS: Rogue Heroes to US

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    Premium network EPIX today announced it has acquired the major new six-part limited series SAS: Rogue Heroes from global distributor Banijay Rights.

    In a deal negotiated by Banijay Rights’ Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, the acquisition marks the first international deal for SAS: Rogue Heroes.

    Produced by Kudos and Nebulastar for EPIX and BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes is a dramatized account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two. Based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book of the same name, the series centers on David Stirling, an eccentric young officer, who is hospitalized after a training exercise gone wrong. Convinced that traditional commando units don’t work, Stirling creates a radical plan that flies in the face of all accepted rules of modern warfare. He fights for permission to recruit the toughest, boldest, and brightest soldiers for a small undercover unit that will create mayhem behind enemy lines. More rebels than soldiers, Stirling’s team is every bit as complicated, flawed, and reckless as it is brave and heroic.

     

    SAS: Rogue Heroes is developed for television and written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo, A Christmas Carol) and will be directed by Tom Shankland (The Serpent, The Missing), with Stephen Smallwood (The Serpent, Patrick Melrose) as producer. The series is executive produced by Karen Wilson, Martin Haines and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd for Kudos, and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.  Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

     

    Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Vigil) will play David Stirling, with Jack O’Connell (Skins, The North Water) as Paddy Mayne, Alfie Allen (Jojo Rabbit, Game of Thrones) as Jock Lewes, Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk, The King) as SAS Founding member Mike Sadler, and Sofia Boutella (Modern Love, Atomic Blonde) as Eve. Dominic West (The Wire, Appropriate Adult) will play Lieutenant Colonel Wrangel Clarke.

    “Steven Knight and Kudos have created a gripping historical drama that complements EPIX’s lineup of elevated, cinematic  storytelling,” said Michael Wright, President, EPIX & President MGM Scripted Television. “We’re delighted to be teaming up with Banijay Rights to give this series an exclusive home on EPIX for the American audience.”

     

    “SAS: Rogue Heroes is a masterstroke of a series from the visionary Steven Knight, packed with a stellar cast who bring this fantastic story to life. We are thrilled that EPIX have come on board to take this fantastic drama to a wider US audience,” said Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Co-Productions and Acquisitions, Rest of the World, Banijay Rights.

     

    Martin Haines, Co-Managing Director of Kudos added: “EPIX is a perfect partner that shares our vision and ambition. We are delighted they are our US partners on this epic show.”

     

    The series will also star Amir El Masry (Industry, The One), Theo Barklem-Biggs (The First Team, Carnival Row), Corin Silva (The Bay, Emmerdale), Jacob Ifan (Bang, The Accident), Dónal Finn (Cursed, The Witcher), Jacob McCarthy (The Last Summer, A.P. Bio), César Domboy (Outlander, The Walk), Michael Schaeffer (Chernobyl, The Salisbury Poisonings) and Miles Jupp (The Great, The Durrells).

    Commissioned by the BBC, SAS: Rogue Heroes will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.